Cookie Paywall Fairness & Consent Alternatives Survey

Welcome! This survey explores your experiences with cookie banners, cookie paywalls, and alternative ways websites can fund content while respecting your privacy. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may stop at any time. All responses are confidential, anonymized, and will be reported only in aggregate for research purposes. There are no right or wrong answers — we are interested in your honest opinions. The survey takes approximately 12 minutes to complete.

How often do you visit news, blog, or magazine websites?

• Multiple times a day
• About once a day
• A few times a week
• About once a week
• A few times a month
• Less than once a month

In the past 3 months, how often did you encounter a cookie consent banner when visiting websites?

• Never
• Rarely (a few times total)
• Sometimes (a few times a month)
• Often (a few times a week)
• Very often (almost every session)

In the past 3 months, did you encounter a "cookie paywall" — that is, a site that required you to either accept tracking cookies or pay before you could access content?

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

The following questions ask about your cookie paywall experiences. If you have not encountered a cookie paywall, please answer based on your general impressions of such practices.

Where did you encounter cookie paywalls? Please name specific sites or types of sites (e.g., news outlets, blogs, streaming services).

Overall, how fair did the cookie paywalls you encountered feel?

To what extent do you agree or disagree: "I felt I had a genuine choice between accepting cookies and a reasonable alternative."

To what extent do you agree or disagree: "The cookie paywall clearly explained what data would be collected and how it would be used."

To what extent do you agree or disagree: "The terms and options presented were easy to understand."

When faced with a cookie paywall, which of the following actions have you taken? Select all that apply.

• Accepted all cookies to continue
• Customized cookie preferences
• Left the site
• Used a browser reader mode or extension
• Returned later via a different device or browser
• Paid to access instead of accepting tracking
• Other (please specify)

Please rank these ways websites could fund content while reducing tracking, from most acceptable (1) to least acceptable.

1. Ad-supported with essential-only cookies
2. Contextual (non-tracking) ads
3. Subscription (monthly/annual)
4. One-time micropayment per article
5. Donation or pay-what-you-want
6. Free access with privacy-preserving analytics

How fair do you find ad-supported access with essential-only cookies, considering both users and publishers?

How fair do you find contextual (non-tracking) advertising, considering both users and publishers?

How fair do you find a subscription model (monthly or annual fee), considering both users and publishers?

How fair do you find one-time micropayments per article, considering both users and publishers?

How important is it to you that a website clearly discloses how your data will be used before asking you to accept cookies or pay?

Please rank what you value most when accessing online content, from most important (1) to least important.

1. Strong privacy protection
2. Low or no cost to me
3. High-quality, reliable content
4. Convenient access (few clicks, no login)
5. Support for publishers and journalists

We'd like to explore your thoughts in a bit more depth. An AI interviewer will ask you a couple of follow-up questions about your experiences with cookie paywalls and what would make consent practices fairer.

Based on your responses in this survey, please share any additional thoughts or feelings about cookie paywalls, consent experiences, or alternative ways to access online content.

What is your age?

• 18–24
• 25–34
• 35–44
• 45–54
• 55–64
• 65+
• Prefer not to say

How do you describe your gender?

• Woman
• Man
• Non-binary
• Prefer not to say

Where do you currently live?

• Europe — EU/EEA member state
• Europe — non-EU
• North America
• Asia
• Africa
• South America
• Oceania
• Prefer not to say

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

• Some high school or less
• High school or equivalent
• Some college or technical program
• Bachelor's degree
• Postgraduate degree
• Prefer not to say

What is your current employment status?

• Full-time
• Part-time
• Self-employed
• Student
• Unemployed
• Retired
• Homemaker
• Prefer not to say

Thank you for completing this survey! Your responses will help us better understand how people perceive fairness, transparency, and consent in online content access. All data will be reported only in aggregate.